Mob Mentality Psychology

Mob mentality is also called as herd mentality which is describing how humans have been influenced by the peers around them in order to adopt such behaviors, purchase items and/or follow trends. Some of examples of mob mentality psychology may involve superstitions, stock marketing trends, home décor, and more. The social psychologists have been studying all relevant topics of crowd wisdom, decentralized decision making, and group intelligence.

Most people are trying to believe that they had fortitude of standing by their own convictions on a particular situation. However, many of them still have the tendency to imitate other people’s behavior. The particularly strange thing is that when some of them get together, they end up performing nonsensical, downright and bizarre violent things which were never considered on their own.

The psychologists call such phenomenon as herd mentality or mob mentality psychology. And once you had considered the present and past, you are going to realize that it led to major moments of ‘What were they thinking?”

Take note of the following instances where there have been indications of herd mentality:

Mountain Meadow Massacre

This event started in the year 1857 in which Utah Mormons had discovered the wagon family train while on the way to California. The members of the church have been threatened by the passersby so they unleashed for an attack. Unfortunately, they have been murdered and were buried into shallow graves.

Burning Man Festival

Herd mentality does not always end up to violence. The Burning Man Festival happened in 1986 during the small reunion of a group of friends on a beach in San Francisco. This became a weeklong event which has been attended by over 5, 000 individual. In the present, this is already in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.

Sporting Events

Each big sporting event belongs to the mob mentality psychology example. Many sports fans do not perform like standing half-naked with torsos and faces that are covered in paints. However, since they have been in a crowd, the tendency is that they would take on collective actions and moods of group. Include alcohol to the overall factors and something can really happen.

Salem Witch Trials

The Salem Witch Trials in 1692 have been a well-known example of herd mentality. Even if this incident discussed about death, this is worth mentioning. This definitely epitomized what might happen once the mobs and religious extremism collide. The truth is that such incident made an impression of using “witch hunt” in describing persons who have been senselessly persecuted.

The Internet

Internet has been the breeding mob mentality psychology ground. This is not just so easy for the online users to look for throngs of some people who are sharing the crazy brand. However, this even shielded those who are under the anonymity cloak, giving certain individuals the freedom of letting go of the social restraints.

Some experts even stated that peaceful crowds are usually transformed in violent mobs because of actions of one or 2 persons. It could be done by an individual or a ringleader. On the other hand, mob mentality psychology is still regarded to get channeled into positive ways, according to some psychologists.